Growing up is never easy
by Evanne.Bo
Summary: I know, cliché fic, Sam and Jack turned into kids. Full of cuteness, friendship and love, but also a lot of drama and tears. Please, give it a try! Mind the rating!
1. Chapter 1

Hi!

**Disclaimer: **nothing's mine

**Genre:** friendship, family, hurt/comfort, drama, romance.

I know it's a cliché fic, but give it a try please!

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A huge thanks to **Tigerlily Brown,** my awsome beta**.**

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**But i need new beta(s) because i don't like bothering the same person over and over again ^^.**

**So, any volunteers???**

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And one, last thing, I'm french, and writing in english is kind of hard for me, so be nice ;)

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**Growing up is never easy**

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"Carter, are we there yet?"

"Yes, sir, just two more miles to go," she answered, smiling at his childish antic.

They had been walking for 2 hours in this dense jungle, the wild vegetation wetting their BDUS and mud swallowing their boots. They were surrounded by the sounds of the tropical rainforest, the constant singing of birds and chirping of insects, mammals screaming and breaking branches as they jumped from one tree to another... and most of all, a frog that the Colonel swore was stalking them.

"Carter, I think it wants to kill us! It's just waiting an appropriate time, we won't know what hit us..." he stated, making her smile.

"If you are talking about the small green amphibian, O'Neill, I have no concern of it assaulting us,we may proceed without fear."

"Thank T, I'm glad you're here to protect us."

The sarcasm was lost on Teal'c. "You are most welcome."

O'Neill turned back to Carter, who was stifling a laugh. "No giggling Major!"

They walked for several more minutes, always careful of venomous creatures, until what they were looking for was finally before their eyes. It reminded Daniel of the Temple of the Sun in Chiapas, but larger, and the architecture couldn't be related to anything on earth. It looked old as the vegetation had long claimed its domination of this artificial creation. As soon as they reached the entrance, the young archaeologist was already removing vines from the closer wall.

"This is incredible Jack, those writings have nothing in common with anything we've ever seen so far, and the..."

"Yes we know, Daniel, that's one of the reasons we're here, the other is that Hammond is getting back at me fo..."

"Jack..." he said, exasperated.

"Daniel?" the Colonel asked innocently.

"Jack."

"Dan..."

"Sir!"

"Yes, Major?"

"Maybe we could take a look around while Teal'c helps Daniel with the inscriptions?" The young man gave her a grateful smile.

"Lead the way, Carter. And don't get in trouble, kids. Radio contact every ten minutes." They took off their backpacks and disappeared in the next room.

*

Ten minutes later, Teal'c was recording and taking pictures, and Daniel was scribbling madly in his notebook.

"O'Neill speaking. Everything's clear, just empty rooms. Carter got some minor energy reading, we're going to check that, what about you?"

"Everything is in order, O'Neill."

"Great, O'Neill out."

*

"So, Carter, what can you tell me?"

"Well, sir, looks like this room is emanating energy, but given it's also empty, except for giant spiders, I don't know where it's coming fr..."

She was interrupted by a blinding white light.

*

Daniel was hit by an odd energy wave, much like the one after entering hyperespace, but not so powerful.

"Wow. Did you feel that, Teal'c?"

"Indeed I did, Daniel Jackson."

"Jack, Jack are you okay?" he said into the radio.

"..."

"Jack? Sam?"

*

The little boy looked around, but could see nothing. The only source of light was coming from two flashlights, one sitting near him, the other some distance away. He was lying on something cold and hard, and he was sure he wasn't in his bed anymore. He grabbed one of the lights and stood up. He wasn't wearing his jammies, but some very strange and heavy green uniform, much like the one soldiers were wearing in the war book his mom showed him the other day. He had a cap, and some very strange things around his leg and torso.

"Mom?" he sounded scared and his muscles were aching all over.

"Mmmm..."

It was coming from behind him. "Hi?" he said, taking small, hesitant steps towards the lying form. "Are you awake?"

He was now standing above a little girl with blond hair, wearing the same garments as him. He knelt beside her and started gently shaking her awake.

"Hey, wake up, come on, wake up!"

The little girl stood up brutally, causing him to fall flat on his butt. "Awww..."

"Why am I hurting? Who are you?" Alarmed eyes looked anxiously at him.

She was really pretty, even frightened.

"I'm Jonathan Jarlath O'Neill» he answered proudly. She offered her hand "But you can call me Jack. What's your name?" he said as he took it.

"Samantha Marguerite Carter, and you can call me Sam, if you are nice."

"I am nice."

"I don't know, I've just met you." She looked around. "Where are we? And what are we wearing?" she asked, worried.

"I don't know. I've just woke up, but I think I'm lost in a dream."

"You can't be in a dream if you have just woken up, unless you were dreaming you were sleeping, and I don't think it's possible."

He looked at her frowning. "You are so smart!" he said after a pause.

"Thanks," she smiled shyly at him and grabbed the other flashlight.

"What do we do now, Sam?"

"I really don't know, I don't like it here, I'm supposed to be in my room. I'm scared and I want to go home." she whimpered. Her eyes were starting to water, but she was trying not to cry. _Carters don't cry._

"You don't have to be scared, I am here and I will protect you!"

She sniffed. "Really?"

"Yes, my mom always says that you have to take care of those smaller than yourself."

"I'm not that smaller than you and I can take care of myself... But thank you."

"Hey, look at that!" Jack said, picking a mini version of a P90 submachine gun from the floor.

"It looks like a gun, there's another one here."

"Do you think they're real?"

"I don't know, but we shouldn't touch them because if they're real, they can hurt us, that's what my dad told me. He knows that kind of thing, he is a major in the Air Force."

"My Dad was in the Air Force too! But I think you are right, let's leave them here."

"_Sam, Jack!"_

"Did you hear that?"

"Yes, it might be our parents!"

" MOM, DAD! " Sam started screaming.

*

"Did you hear that Teal'c? It sounds like a child."

"I believe it is coming from that direction."

They entered the rooms where Jack and Sam were. "Oh my..." Daniel started.

*

"They are not my parents," the little boy whispered to the girl.

"They're not mine either." she whispered back, her heart was beating faster.

"Jack, Sam, is this really you?" Daniel asked, stepping closer.

"Don't move!" Jack screamed, pushing Sam behind her. "How do you know our names? Who are you, why are we here?"

"My name is Daniel, and this is Teal'c," he answered gently, trying not to scare them. "We humm, we are friends with Sam's dad..."

"You know my dad?"

"Yes, his name is Jacob, he is in the Air Force and he asked me to come and get you."

The children turn to one another, talking quietly. "Do you think we can trust them?"

"I don't know, maybe. He _does_ wear glasses, so that means he spends too much time reading under his blanket, and bad people don't know how to read, so he must be a good person. And the other as a strange name and is black like coffee, so he must live in Africa, with coffee trees and lions, so he must be a good man because my dad loves coffee and lions eat bad men" Sam explained.

Daniel was trying not to laugh, and even Teal'c couldn't prevent a smile, but Jack was thinking seriously about it.

"I agree, and they wear the same uniforms as us, so I think they're okay. But let's be careful."

She nodded. "If they try anything, we kick them and run."

"Okay."

They turned back toward their former - future? – teammates.

"We decided that you are good men, so you can take us home."

"All right, that's great."

"Daniel Jackson, should we not remove their weapons?"

"Yeah, you're right. May I move closer?" he asked the children.

"Yes, you may"

"Do you mind if I take your vest, the extra belt and the little belt around your legs?"

"Why?"

"Because... we are going to walk a lot, and it's really heavy."

"Okay," they said together.

"But I'll do it myself!" added Sam.

Before departing, they took pictures of the walls, and 10 minutes later they were at the entrance.

Teal'c was putting on his teammate's packs, and Daniel was gatherings his items.

"Sam, Jack, we will have to walk through a really thick forest and some insects and snakes are really dangerous, so be careful and don't touch anything. Teal'c will be in front of you, just follow him, I'll be behind you."

*

They had been walking in silence for awhile when Sam asked her new friend.

"Jack, do you remember how you got here? Because I don't, and I don't like it."

"I don't remember either. And something is really not right. I feel like I know things I didn't yesterday, and I feel like I've known Teal'c and Daniel all my life."

"I feel the same. I want my mom."

"I want mine too." he sighed.

*

"I think there is a frog stalking us," Jack stated minutes later.

"Can I hold your hand?"

*

_The general is going to have a heart attack when we get back_, thought the archaeologist as he watched fondly the young children holding hands.

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Please, tell me what you think!

I will update every week, if i find any betas ^^.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi!**

First, thanks to **Ida B. Adilee, **my beta, and thanks to everyone for the reviews!

This chapter is different from the first one, but I needed to write it, so the cute moments and all the fun could begin!

It's a kind of boring, and the children actions may seem a little bit exaggerate, but I think I would act like that if I were them!

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Unscheduled off-world activation!

"It's SG-1 General, they were not supposed to return until tomorrow afternoon."

"Open the iris."

*

Sam and Jack watched amazed as the wormhole engaged before their eyes, but surprisingly, they weren't afraid. The journey has been long, hard and they were really tired. They had refused to be carried, and so they had walked for hours, only taking short rests. Now, as the sun set slowly, they were barely staying upright, still holding each other's hands tightly.

Daniel was the first one to step through the Stargate, and told Teal'c to wait a bit. He needed to clear things up with the General.

"What is it like Teal'c?" asked the little girl, her sleepy eyes full of wonder.

"It is cold, young Samantha Carter."

*

"Doctor Jackson, where is the rest of SG-1?" asked the worried General, stepping in the gateroom.

"They are just behind me, but" he paused, not knowing what to say, "can we clear the gate room a little please? I don't want to...umm, scare Sam and Jack."

Hammond gave him a questioning look.

"Just trust me on this one Sir."

He nodded at the heavily armed airmen to step outside.

Seconds later, two small children appeared. The little girl had shoulder-length wavy blond hair, big curious blue eyes, and freckles all over her little nose and cheeks. The little boy was older than the girl. He had brown eyes and short brown hair that was sticking up on his head.

Both were wearing mini versions of BDUs, and were tightly holding onto each other, visibly cold and frightened.

Teal'c stepped in next to them, and the wormhole disengaged.

"Good God, what happened to you?" asked a puzzled General.

Sam and Jack looked around, scared. They didn't like where they were now. There were strange people looking at them from behind a big window, and a fat, bald man who looked at them like they did something wrong.

"Take them to Doctor Fraiser, and then come to my office," he told the Jaffa and the linguist.

No, they didn't like that place at all. Confusion, anger and fear slowly raised in them.

*

They were rushed to the infirmary, receiving again strange looks from everyone as they passed by them.

"Have they never seen children before, or what?" asked an annoyed Jack. "I'm tired, and I don't want to see the doctor. I just want to sleep!"

"Me too! And you said you were taking us home. This isn't my home! This is just a dull military base. TAKE ME HOME NOW!"

"I know kids, but we need to make sure you are fine," Daniel tried to calm them.

"We are fine! And we just want to go home! You said you were taking us to my father!" Her eyes were slightly watering.

They were starting to throw a fit, but he understood. They were exhausted, hungry, and they were only confused little kids who were taken away from their parents. Daniel would be weary too if it was him, and it has been him a long time ago...

As they entered Janet's sanctuary, they heard a gasp and a loud "Oh my God!"

"Before you ask, yes, it's them."

"But how..."

"Another case of SG-1's bad luck," sighed Daniel.

"All right," the doctor in her took over, "climb on the bed kids!" she said to the small children as she reached Jack to help him.

"NO I don't want to!" he yelled, shrugging off Janet's hand. "I'm not allowed to talk to doctors and I don't like you, you're mean and you'll hurt us!"

Jack then threw everything he could reach at them, angry tears falling down his face. Teal's grabbed him by his collar and lifted him in the air. Jack tried to free himself by kicking with his fit and legs, but to no avail.

"SILENCE CHILD," Teal'c almost shouted with his deep, booming voice

That worked well, until heavy sobbing were heard coming from Sam, who was huddled in the corner.

"You took us from our parents and you're going to hurt us and sell us and they will eat us and we're never going to see our home ever again!" she whimpered.

Daniel tried to comfort her, but she wouldn't listen to him, "Come on Sam, that is not true, stop crying. Please, we're here to help. I promise we won't hurt you." He took a step forward.

"Don't touch her!" the brown-haired child screamed, still being held by Teal'c. "If you hurt her I'll kill you!"

He bit the Jaffa's hand hard. Surprised by the force of the small teeth sinking into his skin, Teal'c let the little boy fall. Jack rushed to the little girl's side, pushing Daniel away. He was protecting her little shaking body with his own.

The last thing they both remembered was a pain in their arms, and then darkness.

*

Daniel and Teal'c left the two sleeping children in Janet's care while they debriefed with the General. They walked in silence, very distressed by the events that just occurred. They felt as if they let their friends down.

"Come in," they heard the General said after they knocked. "So, tell me how my two top officers came back looking like children," he was clearly in a bad mood.

"Well," Daniel began, it was no time for details, "we walked to the temple. Teal'c stayed with me in the main entrance while Sam and Jack checked the other rooms. Ten minutes later, they told us they were receiving some readings, and some moments later, we felt an odd energy wave. We tried to contact them through the radio, but we got no answer. When we reached them, they were children."

"What caused them to shrink?" asked the older man.

"It appeared that the room was empty of any technology General Hammond. We took pictures and recording of the markings and proceed to bring the children to the SGC."

"Do you have any ideas of that the markings says?"

"So far, not at all. They have no relation with anything I have ever seen. It will take time for me to translate them, if I even manage to."

This is bad, the General thought. Very bad.

"How are they right now?"

"Asleep. Janet had to sedate them, they were too upset."

Hammond nodded. "Well, start working on the translation. I'll call you when Doctor Fraiser give me her report."

*

Three hours later, while Sam and Jack were still asleep, the remainder of SG-1 and Doctor Fraiser sat in the briefing room with General Hammond.

What can you tell me Doctor?"

"I am positive that these children are Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill, sir. The Major appears to be between 6 and 7 years old, while the Colonel is older, I would say 9, maybe 10 at most."

"How is that possible Doctor?"

"I have absolutely no idea Sir, everything is in order, no anomalies, no unknown elements... nothing! It is humanly impossible to be in perfect condition after such a transformation!"

"And they definitely have no memories of the past years?"

"Not that I could tell, Sir."

"I heard them tell each other that they feel as they know us, they may have unconscious knowledge of their life as adults."

"Could that be true?"

"Maybe. I can't know for sure."

"Anything with the markings, Doctor Jackson?"

"Still working on it General."

They were a short silence when everybody let the gravity of the situation sink in.

"What should we tell them?"

"They are not stupid, Sir. Right now they think we kidnapped them and we're going to hurt them. I think we should tell them the truth."

"I agree. I can't find any good reason to explain how and why we took them from their home. Now or later they will find that it's not the same year. The difference in technologies is quite big, and they went through the gate. We can't lie to them."

"I, too, agree with Doctor Fraiser, General Hammond. Honesty is the best approach to regain their trust."

"Right. I'll contact the Tok'ra. They might be able to help us, and Jacob will make it easier for Major Carter to believe us. Doctor Jackson, try to do what you can with the translation. Teal'c, stay with the children until they wake up. I have a phone call to make."

*

It was 4 hours after midnight when Sam woke up. At first, she thought she was home in her bed, and that everything had just been a nightmare. But then she realized that her blanket wasn't her blanket, her mattress was too hard, and it wasn't pitch black, like in her room. There were two little lights in the corner. She wanted to cry again, but she didn't. She had to be strong. As she stood up, she spotted Teal'c sitting Indian-style on the floor in front of the door. He hadn't seem to notice she was awake. She then saw Jack in the bed on her right, sound asleep. She considered for a second letting him sleep, but she was not tired anymore, and she really needed to pee.

"Jack," she whispered, trying not to draw the Jaffa's attention on her. "Psst."

It had no effect whatsoever. So she carefully climbed down the high bed, make her way to her friend's bed, jumped in, and knelt beside his sleeping body.

"Jack," she softly said again in his ear.

"mmmmm nt school today mmm... "

She was starting to get annoyed. She called him one more time, a little louder, while shaking him not-so-gently. Jack woke up with a jerk. He didn't say anything, but stared at the blue eyes in front of him, trying to remember who she was. As the events of the prior day hit him, he let a heavy sigh out, and ask Sam, "Are you okay?"

"uh huh. But I really need to pee."

Jack looked around.

"What's he doing?" he whispered, staring at the Jaffa.

"I don't know. If he really is from Africa, he must be in a sort of trance to communicate with the elders."

"They can do that?!"

"Yeah, I read it in a book. But I don't think we can get through that door without getting noticed."

"We can try the other one, maybe it's the bathroom."

"Okay."

They carefully tiptoed their way to the door, keeping an eye on Teal'c.

"Bingo," Jack said as he switched on the light. It was the bathroom. There was a toilet, a sink, and a shower.

"Turn on the faucet and turn around," commanded the little girl. "And don't peek."

"Me now, don't peek either," he said when she was finished.

They washed their hands, but Jack had to help Sam because she couldn't reach the soap container. "Thanks."

"What do we do now? Do you think we can try the other door without being caught?"

"We can always try."

They hadn't made three steps that a deep voice startled them.

"Go back to your beds young children, it is not time to arise yet. You shall sleep more."

They didn't move for a moment, too scared. The Jaffa didn't even open his eyes! Their heart was beating fast as they ran to the nearest bed. Jack climbed first, help Sam in and they hid under the blanket.

"How did he do that?" he whispered anxiously to his little friend.

"He must be a shaman. I heard they have mystic powers! We should do what he said if we don't want to have our souls taken away!"

"I agree," he nodded frantically.

As the young version of his friends drift back to sleep, Teal'c thought with a barely-there smile, that Tauri's children have a lot of imagination.

*

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**Please, tell me what you think, I'm really unsure about this chapter, and when i am not pleased with myself, I tend to be less eager to write more! **(you wouldn't believe how many half written fanfictions i got on my computer!)

And now, an unrelated question**: In the usa, what are the best sweets/confections loved by children? In France, I think Kinder is well known and loved, is it the same for you?**

_See you next week!_


	3. Chapter 3

Hi!

Sorry for the delay!

This chapter is twice as long, so i hope it makes it up!

Thanks to all of you for your reviews, thanks to my beta** Ida B. Adilee**, and thanks to **RoczaDeb **who kindly answered all my questions!

And I know Sam and Jack don't act the same they do as adults, but it's the whole point of this story^^.

The candies will appear later on.

enjoy!

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It was barely 6:30 am when Daniel stepped in the infirmary and knocked on Janet's door. He entered without even waiting. She was already there, filling in some reports.

"Morning Janet."

"Morning Daniel. Any news on the markings?"

"No, nothing yet. Any problems with the kids?"

"Still sleeping, but that won't last. General Hammond called me and told me that we can tell them everything we need to tell them, but only if they ask first. The Tok'ra have been contacted. Jacob and Selmak should be here soon, at the end of the week at the latest."

Daniel looked at the screen. His friends were in the same bed. Jack was on his belly, mouth open and one leg hanging outside the mattress. Sam was sprawled on her back, upside down, one foot on the little boy's body and the other near his head.

"Why are they in the same bed?" The archaeologist asked, amused at their position.

"They woke up in the middle of the night. They wanted to get outside, but Teal'c told them to get back to sleep. This scared them so much that they ran to the nearest bed," she said with a smile.

"You watched them all night?"

"Oh no, I was curious too, so I checked the tape. Does Sam also sleep like that off-world?"

"I don't really know. She always shares a tent with Jack. She's the kicker, Jack's the snorer, and I'm the cuddler. I could never sleep with her kicks, Teal'c gets annoyed with Jack's noises, and Jack hates night hugs, at least from me," he said fondly.

"And Teal'c like being cuddled?" she snorted at the mental vision she just got.

"He doesn't mind all that much when it happens, and anyways, he kel'no'reems in a sitting position, so I only get to cuddle his feet." They both laughed.

"They're kind of cute, aren't they?" Daniel commented after a short silence.

"You think the tantrum they threw yesterday was cute?" Janet asked, her eyebrows lift.

"No, I mean that Jack is still very protective of little Sam, it's like it's in his DNA. And Sam still has her own logic. You should have heard what she said in the temple that lead her to found out we were not bad men. To sum up, she said that I'm a good man because I wear glasses, and Teal'c is a good man because she thinks he's from Africa," he let a soft chuckle out, so did Janet. "They act like themselves, but in a child-like way."

"Oh yeah, I agree on that one, the Colonel still hates doctors!"

"You shouldn't take that personally, they were just tired. I don't think they are mean or disrespectful kids."

"How can you be so sure? I'd think the Colonel to be a little monster!"

"No, not at all. Jack told me that himself."

"Really?" she asked, not totally convinced.

"Yeah. Granted, it was after too many beers, but he told me he was really well-behaved, always helping his neighbors, never doing any mischief, taking care of others... and believe it or not, he was even an altar boy!"

"No way!" Janet laughed openly.

"Don't tell anyone, Jack will never forgive me."

"I won't tell anyone. What about Sam?"

"She never said anything. But look at her, I don't think she ever did anything bad, as a kid or as an adult."

"I agree, I could never imagine such an angelic looking little girl doing anything bad." She said, both watching the screen.

And how wrong were they.

*

Something was tickling his nose. Still half asleep, Jack tried to kick it, but to no avail. He grabbed it, and was rewarded by a giggle. He opened his eyes to see the little girl kneeling in front of him, and realized it was Sam's finger that he was holding.

"What do you want now? You can go to the bathroom alone," he told her, a little annoyed.

Her smile changed to a pout.

"I don't want to go to the bathroom. It's time to wake up and eat breakfast. I'm hungry, and I don't want to stay in this boring room."

Jack checked if Teal'c was still there, and he was.

"We can't go out, he's still in front of the door."

She sat back on her heels and crossed her arms on her chest.

"But I wanna go out!"

At that moment the Jaffa stood up.

"I will find Doctor Frasier. You will remain here until then, or I will be very displeased. I will also be very displeased if you throw another tantrum. Am I understood, young children?"

They didn't answer, but nodded slowly several times. Teal'c dipped his head approvingly, and stepped out.

"He talks funny," Jack said after a moment. Sam agreed.

"I bet he is a soft teddy bear on the inside."

*

Janet and Daniel nearly ran into Teal'c when they stepped into the corridor.

"How did the night go Teal'c?"

"They were no trouble at all. I believe they will not cause any more problems."

"Great. I hope you're right."

They stepped back into the room. The kids were still on the bed, quiet.

"Good morning kids!" Janet said. "Did you sleep well?" they both shook their heads no. "No nausea, no funny feeling...?" same answer. "You won't throw another tantrum like yesterday?" she teased. At this, Sam bit her lip and dipped her head. Daniel could have sworn she was preventing a smile, but he must have been mistaken. Jack started fidgeting with his hands, and flushed. The kids shared a look.

"It depends." he said, looking at the adults. "Will you hurt us? Because if so, we won't be very nice to you."

"Of course we won't hurt you honey, we promise, right gentlemen?"

"I promise," Daniel said

"I, too, give you my word that I shall never cause you any harm."

"See, do you believe us?"

The little boy looked at the blond child, and they both nodded.

"All right, what about breakfast now!" Daniel exclaimed.

"Yeah! I'm very hungry!"

"Me too!"

"Okay, let's go."

"But we need to get dressed first." Sam said to Janet.

"You are already dressed honey," she said looking at the infirmary jammies. "Just put on the slippers."

"But I'm a girl, I can't wear pants all day long!" she cried out.

"You can't?" Daniel asked, hiding his amusement. That was not the Sam he remembered.

"Of course I can't!" she shrieked, outraged. "I made a compromise yesterday, but I need a dress, and my sandals, and to brush my hair, then put ribbons in it. I can't go walking around looking like that!" she pointed her hands at herself. "And today I want to wear my green dress, with my butterfly emerald shoes, and french braided my hair with the matching emerald ribbons! And mom let me put on some blush so I look healthy," she nodded.

The three adults stared at her, mouth open. Well, two adults, but Teal'c eyebrows went MIA. They were so shocked at Sam's choice of style that the quality of her speech went unnoticed. Who knew that Major Carter was such a girly little girl.

"She's right, you know. My mom wears dresses all the time, too," Jack added, matter-of-fact.

"Riiiight," Janet said. She knelt in front of the little girl. "I'm sorry sweetie, but we don't have any dresses to give you," Sam started to pout. "But I promise you I will send someone to buy plenty! Can you wait until then?"

"I guess I can."

"You're sure you only want dresses?"

"No, I need shoes, too, and scarves, socks, tights, and underwear, all matching my dresses. And one dress of every colors, and one with butterflies, one with frogs, one with rainbows, one with clouds, one with stars, one with bunnies, one with..."

"Okay honey, I think we got it!"

"But I'm not finish yet."

"You can finish on our way to the commissary."

"Okay."

With that Sam took the doctor's hand, and went on describing her dresses.

"Can you carry me on your shoulders Teal'c?" asked Jack with a big smile. "Pleeeeeeeease?"

Without a word the Jaffa lifted the boy.

"I want to be carried, too!" Sam yelped, her big blue eyes looking expectingly at Daniel. He couldn't say no to that. _I'm so weak_, he told himself.

"Okay."

"Wait a second, I have to grab my camera!" Janet said. "You are all so cute," she teased the two men.

Dozens of pictures and 52 descriptions of dresses later, they were finally in the mess hall. Due to the hour, it was almost empty, save for SG-3 who had an early mission.

"So what do you feel like eating?" the doctor asked the kids, who were still perched on their teammates' shoulders.

"I want a bit of everything!" exclaimed the little girl. "A bowl of a mix of every cereals, an apple and a banana, a glass of orange juice, some scrambled eggs with ham, french toast, and that green stuff and...and that'll be all."

"You're sure you're going to eat all of that?" the linguist asked.

"Oh yes, I'm a growing girl, you know. I need to eat a lot! Right doctor?" she turned toward Janet.

"Yep, you're right! And you can call me Janet."

"Okay doctor Janet. What do you want Jack?" she asked her quiet friend.

"Hum... I think I'll have what you're having, but without the french toasts and with only those cereals, they look like they taste good!"

"You have never tasted fruit loops before!?" she asked in an awe.

"Nope, we don't have all that food at home. Mom always makes omelet, bacon, cinnamon toast and apple juice."

_Of course _thought Daniel, _40 years ago things were different, and fruit loops didn't even exist._

"Well, you can eat different things now!"

They all sat at their usual table and started eating. Sam was a fast eater, taking spoonful after spoonful, stuffing everything inside and outside her mouth. Jack was a slower eater, tasting a bit of everything in the same order every time.

On their right, the marines was staring at the children. Sam, having noticed them, looked up and said, with a big smile and a full mouth, "Hi! I noticed you've been staring at my food, do you want some?" showing her french toast, now covered with the green stuff, some cereals, and a crushed banana.

"Hmm, why not? Thanks," Colonel Renoyls answered. He simply couldn't refused those baby blue eyes.

_She is so cute_, they all thought, but the marines would have died before saying it out loud. The whole SGC knew what happened to the Colonel and the Major, and while half didn't care, the other couldn't wait to see them.

He took a bit, and shoved it into his mouth.

It was horrible.

"Mmmmmm," the leader said loudly. "This is delicious!" he openly lied, still chewing. The other adults tried to hide their smiles.

"I know," Sam answered honestly. "But if you want more, you will have to do it yourself, because I am not sharing any more."

"No problem!"

Sam turned toward Jack. "So, how do you like your food?"

"It's good! I like fruit loops and the eggs, but I don't really like the green stuff."

"I can eat it for you if you want!"

"Okay."

"Won't you get sick eating so much, Sam?"

"Nope, mom says I'm a bottomless pit, and that I should enjoy it while it last. She said that when girls grow up, food sticks to their skin, and they get fat, so until then, I can eat everything I want. But not food I find on the ground, because dad says it's forbidden, and he also says that I can't eat the cat's food because he won't be my friend anymore, and also mom's flowers, even if they're real good, because the bees and the butterflies won't be happy. Marc, he's my big brother, says I'm a freak, but I just really like to eat!" she told everyone, with her mouth twisted in a little pout and big wide eyes.

"I do not think of you as a freak young Samantha. I also take great pleasure by eating."

"Me too, I like cake the best!" Jack added.

Teal'c, Sam and Jack turned toward Janet and Daniel. "Well, I really like fish and chips." the young man said.

"And I would do anything for ice cream!" Janet smiled at them.

Sam turned toward SG-3.

"We like to eat too," they all said.

"Good!"

They all finished eating.

"So, what do we do now?" Jack asked after taking his last spoon of fruit loops. "Will you take us home?"

The three adults looked at each others worried.

"Well," Daniel began. "It's a little bit complicated. You will have to stay with us for a while. Think of it as a holiday!"

"But my mom needed me to help her with the cows this weekend! I can't stay here!"

"We cleared everything with your mom. She said you could stay."

"You're sure she agreed?"

"Positive."

"Okay," he looked down, clearly sad.

Janet looked at Sam, who for once hadn't say a word.

"Are you okay sweetie?"

"No, I'm not."

"Why, you will see your parents again, just not now."

"No, I won't! Marc was right. He said that Mom and Dad will get fed up with me and that they will lose me on purpose in the forest. And it's exactly what they did. They will replace me with a better daughter."

"That's not what happened. W..."

"Then what happened? Because I was in my bed one second and then I woke up in a strange place, far from home. And then we went through the Stargate, and I've never seen anything like it before, and it did strange things to my body!"

"Ah!" they heard the little boy gasped. "I know what's going on! Jenna Smith told me about it."

"She did?" Daniel asked, but Jack continued without noticing.

"You're aliens! And the Stargate is your spaceship! That's why everything is so different here!"

There was a short silence.

"Hum," Daniel squirmed in his seat. "Not exactly. Why don't we find a more private place to talk about it?"

"And you will tell us everything?"

"Yes! We don't really have a choice now, do we?" he asked his friends. Janet and Teal'c shooked their heads.

*

In the briefing room, the children sat side by side on the edge of table. Daniel was standing in front of them and Teal'c stood on their right. Janet went to the General Hammond's office, telling him about the situation.

"What I'm going to tell you kids, is going to sound crazy, but I promise it's the truth. I want you to listen carefully, and to not tell anyone, can you do that for me?" they nodded fiercely.

"The Stargate is indeed an alien technology. But it's not a spaceship. It can transport people to different planets."

Both of the kids turned their heads toward it, mouths opened in wonder.

"So that means that Sam and me were on another planet yesterday?"

The young man was surprised that they would even consider _that_ to be the truth.

"Yes. Yesterday, Teal'c and I went to that planet with two friends. But something happened to them and when we reached them, we found you instead."

"I don't understand," the young boy said.

"Well you see, when my friends entered that room, because of its alien origin, they were changed back to their young selves, that means you."

"So you are telling us that your friends, are us, but an older version."

"Yes, I know it sounds crazy, but we are in 2002."

"But you will fix it right? You will make us grow again, and give us back our memories."

"We will, yes, but it might take some time."

"Okay," Jack said.

"Okay? Just like that?" a puzzled Daniel asked.

"Yes," he shrugged. "I trust you, and anyway, I don't have a choice."

"Oh, okay then, that's good. Sam are you... Sam?"

She was still staring at him, and he realised that she hasn't said a thing from the begining.

"Sam, are you okay?" he asked, worried.

"You are telling me, that I'm in the future. And that in this future, I will travel to other planets with my friends?" she asked slowly.

"Hum, yes?"

"And you are not making fun of me, right?"

"I promise you everything I said was the truth." She took a shaky breath.

"I traveled to a planet light-years away from our solar system?"

"Yes."

She tried to calm herself with another breath.

"In only a matter of seconds, by stepping through an alien circle?"

"Basicaly, this is correct, yes."

"You pinky swear this is not a joke."

"I pinky swear."

She was silent for a moment then broke slowly into the biggest grin he had ever seen. He saw her taking a large breath and...

"aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh" she squealed loudly, really loudly. So loud that it silenced the control room downstairs.

She then jumped excitingly on her feet and wouldn't stop moving. She went to the window and was still squealing, bouncing up and down watching the alien device. The others in the room had to put their hands on their ears. She was still screaming when the General and Janet barged in. She was really red now.

"I knew it! Living species exist outside our solar system! It's just not possible that Earth was the only planet able to sustain life in the universe! This is so wonderful. I knew it! I knew it I knew it!"

"What is wrong with her?" Hammond asked, over the noise.

"She's having a nervous break down." Jack stated seriously.

She was now having difficulties breathing and her eyes were glazed over.

"I think she's hyperventilating sir," Doctor Fraiser said clearly worried. She knelt in front of her and took her by each arm, stilling her. She took her pulse.

"Daniel Jackson told young Samantha Carter that her older self was traveling through the galaxy thanks to an alien device. She got a slightly...excited." Teal'c answered, his lips twisting in a barely-there smile.

"Slighty? That's the understatement of the year!"

"Calm down Sam, you are going to hurt yourself! Take deep breaths, here, like this. Are you all right honey?"

She nodded furiously.

"I'm fine. I bet the waterpool was a vortex right? I read an aticle on wormhole this other day... Oh I need to see it again, please? Please please please please please please please! I will be good, I promise! I won't break it? Please? I just want to see it working once again," she was looking at Daniel with a puppy eyes.

"That's not me you should ask, but the General."

She turned to Hammond. "Please." At that moment, he realized that it was even more difficult saying no to a little Major than it was to a full-grown up Major.

"All right. SG-3 has a mission in ten minutes, you can watch them in the control room, but I want you to hold Teal'c's hand all the time," she squealed again, but not as loudly.

"Thanks," she hugged him quickly and childishly saluted him. She took the Jaffa's hand. "Come on Teal'c, I need to know how it works," and dragged him towards the stairs, leaving the others without a glance.

"Hard to say no, huh?"

"I have a new-found respect for her parents!"

"I knew Sam was a genius, but it's still surprised me the knowledge that she has for little girl! At her age I though stars were giant fireflies stucked in little clouds," Janet commented.

"Yeah, I never asked Sam about her childhood, but I never imagined her to be so..."

"Special?" Hammond provided.

"Yeah. She's really something else. Jacob is a really lucky man."

Then at the same moment the three adults remembered that there was another child in the room with them. Jack was still patiently sitting on the table, is feet dangling in the air. At least he was a quiet one.

"You also want to see the Stargate working son?"

"Yes!" the smile was so big that he saw a gap between the little boy's teeth. "And I promise I won't let go of you!" he said taking Hammond's hand, looking up to him with bright eyes. The General heard two distinct 'awwww', and the sound of a camera. He gave the two doctors a look.

"Don't you have work to do?"

"I'll be in my office!" they both said at the same time.

*

When the General entered the control room, he directly spotted the little blond that was listening intensely to Sergeant Siler, still clutching the Jaffa. The technician stopped talking to greet the General. "Sir."

"Sergeant. This little one is not causing any trouble I hope?"

"Not at all." he replyed smiling. "She is one curious child."

"Jack! You will not believe what Sergeant Siler told me!" she screamed when she saw her friend.

She then undertook to explain the little boy what she learnt in two minutes on the Stargate. With the correct words. Jack threw a funny hopeless look at the adults, big brown eyes wide open.

"Some things never change!" Hammond chuckled.

SG-3 was already in the gate room, ready to embark. The Stargate started spinning and George briefly wondered if Doctor Fraiser shouldn't have stayed with the young Samantha.

"SG-3, you have a go!"

"Teal'c, I leave them in your care," he said before heading back to his office.

He needed to talk to the president. The SGC was not exactly the best place for kids, but he couldn't think of anywhere else to put them. Some of the personnel would not mind babysitting, but they will want to go outside, play at the park... What if they change back in front of a crowd? And Doctor Fraiser told him that they needed to buy clothes, or at least a hundred dresses for the little princess that the Stargate genius was...

He snorted softly as he entered his office.

*

Jack was starting to get bored. It was now 11am, and they have been here for over three hours. He and Sam talk a lot with Teal'c, and he now knew the headlines of the whole story. Teal'c was a nice alien, goa'ulds were the bad guys, Tokra were nice too... It has been an exciting morning, but he was restless. He watched Sam asking questions for ten more minutes before telling Teal'c he was bored.

"We may go and see what Daniel Jackson is working on."

The two kids nodded.

"I think I asked enough questions for today."

The gate staff couldn't agree more, even if they were now complitly smitten with her.

*

Daniel was a frustrated man. He had just spent three hours and a half on the translation, to no avail. He had to find something. Even if Jack was less annoying, and way cuter now, he couldn't let his friends down.

"Hi Daniel!" he heard two distinct childish voices called.

"Hi kids, how was your morning?"

"Great! But we were bored, so Teal'c says we could go and see you! How was your morning?" An energic Jack asked.

"Great too!" A quick glance in his direction told the Jaffa that was not the case. "You know what?"

"What?" they both asked.

"Why don't we go and annoy Janet, and then eat something?"

"Yeah!"

*

They spotted Janet next to Major Parker whose leg was broken. While Daniel and Teal'c started chatting with the Doctor, Sam and Jack came up the poor man lying in the bed.

"What happened to you?" Jack asked curiously.

"I fell while hiking a mountain. Broken in two pieces"

"Ouch. I fall from trees all the time, and once I even broke my arm. That really hurt, my bone was sticking outside from my body!" Sam told him. "My mom was very worried and mad. Your mom is mad too?"

"Nope, but I feel very foolish," he sighed.

"Accident happens!"

"You want us to sign you cast?"

"Why not?" the young man said smiling. "Go ahead!"

"Stay here, I'll ask Doctor Janet for some markers."

"You were off world when it happened?" Jack asked.

"Yes," he hesitated, not knowing what he was allowed to say.

"That's okay, you can tell me everything, I know about the Stargate and the goa'ulds, well, I remember the big lines, Sam is better with details. I like her, she's my best friend, even if I only met her yesterday, but you sense those kinds of things. She is really smart you know. Me, I am more of an action man. But together we are a good team. That's what Teal'c told us." Jack babbled and Parker couldn't help but smile at what he was saying. _Looks like someone has a little crush_, he thought, amused. "I like Teal'c too, even if he's an alien, and Daniel seems nice, but a little odd, he does some strange faces sometimes. I don't like doctors all that much but Doctor Janet is kind of nice, and she's not ugly or old..."

"Who's not ugly or old?" the said doctor questioned, bringing back Sam and the markers.

"No one," Jack answered quickly.

"What do you want us to draw?" the little girl asked.

"Feel free to do as you please."

For several minutes the kids worked on the cast.

"Done!"

"Done too"

"Well, let's see!"

Sam drawn a colorful butterfly on a blue flower, surrounded by green hearts. She wrote 'Be strong and brave, Sam'. Jack drawn a cow with a blue bell, looking at yellow stars and a blue moon, 'It's Carla, she will protect you, Jack'.

That was pretty good, for kids. But just thinking that was actually Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill who drawn that made him want to burst laughing, so it did to Janet and the rest of SG-1.

"You like them?"

"I can't wait to show my cast, everyone will be jealous!" he was rewarded by two huge smiles.

"Say goodbye to Janet and Major Parker kids, time to eat!"

*

Teal'c and Daniel carried once again Sam and Jack on their shoulders so they could see what food choice they had.

"Potatoes, chicken, red jello, that pie, and a slice of that."

"Same thing, but with blue jello."

"Yuck, red jello is so much better."

"In your dream, blue jello is way tastier and prettier."

"Is not."

"Is too."

"Is not."

"Kids!"

"Everyone is allowed to have their own taste in food! Now take your tray to your seat and eat."

Every single person in the commissary was looking at Sam and Jack. "Why are they looking at us Daniel?" the boy asked.

"It's because they are not used to see children at the SGC, even less if they are shrunken coworkers."

"Well, they shouldn't, it's not polite,"

They eat they lunch in silence, clearly incomfortable by the stares. Daniel went back to his office and Teal'c was once again in charge of the kids.

"What do we do now Teal'c?"

"General Hammond asked for our presence in the briefing room. This is where we are heading at the moment young Jonathan."

"You know, you can call me Jack, I won't be mad."

"And me Sam!"

"As you wish."

*

When they reached their destination, SG-3 was already there.

"Hi again! Weren't you supposed to be off world? I saw you go this morning," a curious Sam asked.

"Let's just say that it didn't go as planned. We've just come back," the team leader told her.

"Teal'c," the General begin. "Your mission is to go shopping for anything the children will need. Clothes, car seats, drawing books,... SG-3 will be your backup. The president allowed the kids to go with you. If anything happens, call the SGC immediately. " Only after he said that did he realize that was the strangest order he has ever given.

"So, we're going to go shopping?" Sam squealed.

"Um, sir, maybe we should take a woman with us?" Major Penhall said.

"I'm sure you will be fine. It's just shopping."

"And shopping is fun!"

They all stared at Major Carter in horror. They still couldn't believe that those two kids were half of the famous flag team. And they were going to buy underwear for them.

It was not is the job description of a marine.

"I will wait for you in front of the guest quarters as soon as you come back."

*

30 minutes later, after changing the kids into the mini BDUs, they were parking in front of Chapel Hills Mall. It was a sunny day, and the sky was all blue.

"I think we should begin with clothes and shoes, because I don't want to go around looking like that all day," with that she took the closest hand she could reach, Lieutenant Bosco's, and dragged him with her. The poor blond-haired guy, as big as Teal'c, didn't stand a chance.

"You know, when a woman gets like that, you just have to close your mouth, sit back, and do as she pleased. Or you won't make it through the day. That's what my grandfather taught me."

"Clever guy your grandpa!" Penhall stated.

*

When Jenna Williams saw the new customers entering the shop, she couldn't help but stare at that bunch of hot men, clearly military. She pinched herself and headed toward them.

"Hi! I'm Jenna, what can I do for you today?"

"Hi! My name is Sam and I need a lot of dresses, and only dresses, not skirts or pants, dresses. And matching shoes or boots, underwear, some scarves, tights and socks. I'll need a coat too, in case it gets chilly, but not a boring one, a pretty one, with lots of colors, and a matching umbrella too. And I'll need accessories for my hair, lots of ribbons. And last, I'll need two sets of pyjamas and slippers."

The young woman threw a look at the big black colored man wearing a stetson.

"This young boy will also need new garments," Teal'c said, putting both his hands on Jack's shoulder.

Shopping for Jack O'Neill kid version was the easiest mission SG-3 ever had. It only took 40 minutes. He was a very easy child to please. But shopping for a 7 year old Samantha Carter was... let's just say that they should get a medal. Three hours later, they were still in the same damn shop. They were waiting for the kids to change clothes, and then they could pay and go somewhere else.

Jack was the first to step out of the changing room with Teal'c. He wore black carpenter jeans, a plaid woven shirt and simple black shoes. The kid got class.

Five minutes later, Colonel Reynolds couldn't prevent the "awwwwwwwww" that escaped his lips.

"What? She's adorable!" he said when he noticed the teasing looks he got from his teammates.

They couldn't agree more.

"So, how do I look?" she asked smiling and turning on herself.

She was wearing a pale pink dress with butterflies on it. It reached her knees and left one shoulder uncovered. Her shoes were, of course, matching, as were the ribbons holding her two french braids. It was not a horrible doll's dress, there were not too much laces or several layers of fabrics. A teenager could have worn it without looking stupid.

"You are really pretty Sam," Jack answered, reddening. She blushed too, and they grins at each other for a moment.

"Do you smell love like I do guys?" Lieutnent Peterson jocked.

"At least he knows how to talk to a girl," he elbowed his C.O.

*

Teal'c quickly paid with the credit card provided by the SGC. The Jaffa briefly wondered if his friends will have to pay back when everything was over. Because if so, they will not be happy. He never knew clothes could be that expensive.

For two more hours they kept on shopping; shampoo, games, books... only stopping for ice creams and bathroom stops. The marines were now experts in nail polish and blush.

But the kids didn't have their nap and were now getting tired. It was time to go back to the SGC.

*

Sam was on Teal'c's shoulders and Jack was holding his hand. Behind them SG-3 were having trouble holding all the bags. People will never leave that one down.

They spotted the General and Daniel in front of the guest rooms.

"I guess everything went well?"

"You guess well General Hammond."

"Let's take all those bags in the room, we will sort all of that tomorrow."

The room was really huge. It had two beds, separated by a night table, with two chest drawers and wardrobes. There was a table with four chairs in the midle, and two couches and a coffee table in the corner.

"You will stay here for now," he told Jack. "I need time to arranged the quarters next to Teal'c's and to Doctor Jackson's," the kids nodded. What the General really meant was that he would give them official quarters if the situation was completly desperate.

They asked for the food to be delivered in and they quickly ate. The kids changed, a blue pajamas with turtles design for Jack and a red nightdress with ladybugs for Sam, brushed their teeth and went to bed. But the same bed.

"Sam, why don't you sleep in your own bed tonight?" Daniel asked gently. He didn't want his friends to have any problems. They were kids with no memories, but still, you never know...

"But I want to sleep with Jack!" She was so adorably pouting, with her messed hair and clutching her brand new stuffed bunny, that he couldn't say no, again.

"All right, but only for tonight."

Within minutes they were both sound asleep.

"Have you made any progress with your translation Daniel Jackson?"

"Not at all Teal'c. And I'm afraid I won't for a long time. The General sent a team back to the planet while you were gone, they didn't find anything else, and there were no energy readings anymore. I hope the Tok'ra can help us because if not..." He didn't finish his sentence.

* * *

Please, nice reviews are very welcome.I know you don't care but my little rat Wendy is very sick, and i'm completly depressed. She's my favorite living being in the whole damn world. (yes, i know, ma vie est pathétique )

And i know the kids' reactions to the explainations were kind of 'too easy', but i will do more characters insides in the next chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

Hi!

No, I'm not dead!

Here is a new chapter,_**and again I want to remind you that this story is rated M.  
**_

Thanks to** gatehead**, my beta!

My style has changed a lot in two years, so sorry if you don't like it anymore.

* * *

Jack was wide awake. The strange clock on his left was spreading a red light in the dark room: 05:21. He exhaled noisily. He turned his head to the right and looked at the sleeping little girl. Slowly, he pushed his hand toward hers until he could reach her fingers. He gently grabbed them, and his heartbeat accelerated when he heard her whisper something unintelligible. Luckily she didn't wake up but tightened her hold. He sighed, smiling at the ceiling.

Life was good.

Jonathon J. O'Neill was a simple man (he is no more than ten, after all). And so far, his whole existence has been pretty simple too. He would wake up every day at dawn, eat, help his mom with the farm chores, go to school, play with his friends and sleep...So aliens were real? He was in the future? Well, okay, he could live with that. He really missed his mom thought, and hoped she was fine and not worrying too much, and he really, really missed his cow Carla too. But Daniel said everything will be alright again, they just had to be patient. He believed him. He trusted him. People were nice here, and food was good. So in truth, he didn't have anything to complain about. And there was Sam. He liked her, a _helluva_ lot.

He didn't have that much experience with women (he was only ten, after all…). But Grandpa Bert told him a lot about women, before he went to heaven. "_Women, son,_" he told him on a hot summer day. They would often sit together, on the old bench on the front porch, and talk about stuff. "_Women are the reason why life is worth living. And __**the **__woman, and I'm talking about the one that set your body on fire, if you know what I mean. Well, treat her like the goddess that she is. And if you are lucky enough to earn her love, son, and share her bed, oh lord! To hold her at night, to kiss her delicious lips, to caress her skin, to make sweet, gentle…"_

Then his mom interrupted him, but he got it: a woman's love was heaven on earth.

He looked again at her. He thought that he must have done something right because he was already sharing her bed. And he didn't know about a fire, but he was really feeling warm inside, being here, with her.

Oh yeah, life was really good.

It was six am when he heard someone coming in.

"Good morning Jack," Daniel whispered.

"Morning!" the boy replied.

"It's time to get up and start a new day!" He came closer; on Sam's side. "Come on honey, wakey wakey!"

"Daddy?" she mumbled.

"Sorry it's just me."

She stared at him, her face lacking any emotion. And for a minute Daniel thought that she might cry, but before he could say anything, she turned to Jack.

"Good morning Jack!" she said in a cheerful voice. She threw the cover away with one hand as the other was still held by the boy. She frowned at it, but then kissed Jack on the cheek and dragged the blushing boy out of the bed.

"Let's get you both dressed, and then we can go take our breakfast," the smiling young man announced. His friends were just too cute.

"I need to take a bath first." Sam objected.

"Me too."

He frowned at them both. "Of course you do. All right then," he sighed. "Grab your things and we'll fetch Teal'c on the way."

While Daniel was with Jack in the men's locker room, the Jaffa was in the women's one, watching the young Samantha Carter. She was silent, methodically laying her belongings out on the bench. _Obsessively,_ he remarked, as she took a long time setting her bow, perfectly parallel to the bench borders. He wondered at the change in behavior compared to the day before. But he didn't say anything, just patiently waited for her to complete her task. Once this was done, she started removing her clothes, neatly folding them. He turned around, giving her her privacy. She wasn't paying attention to him at all, doing everything on her own. She washed herself, carefully cleaning every inch of her body.

Sam was now facing a mirror in her emerald dress and yellow cardigan. She made a high ponytail, and then added the bright green bow around the hair band. As she did so, her eyes caught something of interest reflected in the room. She walked to one of the lockers. Her locker. She climbed on the bench and gently caressed her name. "Major Samantha M. Carter." She whispered to herself. She sat down. Teal'c came over and did the same. They stayed like that for a while, in silence.

"Is something bothering you Samantha Carter?"

She met his eyes. He wasn't positive she was going to confide in him, until he heard her quite voice breaking the heaviness surrounding them.

"There are just so many things inside my head, sometimes I'm just so tired and I want to disappear."

She was hurting, of that he was sure. And it was deep. That look, he had seen that one on rare occasions through the years he had worked with her. And as her eyes stared within his soul, he realized that there was nothing he could do to make the emotional pain go away.

The door opened and two female Lieutenants walked in. As they saw the alien and the girl, they stopped in their tracks.

"Let's just go get breakfast Teal'c."

When they entered the commissary, Daniel and Jack were almost done.

"Finally!" the archaeologist spoke. "What took you so long?"

"We were getting worried, weren't we Daniel?"

"Sure we were," he replied, a knowing smile on his lips.

They sat down and started eating. Jack was talking non-stop, doing most of the conversation on his own.

"You're not very talkative this morning Sam, is everything okay?" Daniel asked softly.

The little boy turned his head to his friend. "You're not hungry?"

Teal'c silently warned his friend to just drop the subject, but as always the young man did not know when to stop.

"You know it's not very nice to ignore me Sam." Daniel chastised a little.

She didn't even acknowledge him. She just kept on organizing the food in her tray the way she wanted it.

"Can you at least look at me when I am talking to you? If you have a problem you can talk to us! We are here to help you, Sam, you can…"

Hours later, he would still be berating himself and wished he had just let it go.

Before anyone could react, the small girl started screaming and shouting as she made a mess of everything that was on the table.

"Stop talking, stop talking, stop talking," she chanted repeatedly, her hands over her hears. Daniel tried to calm her down, but as he grabbed her shoulders she just shrugged. She ran out of the room. When he finally caught up with her, she was leaning against a wall, out of breath. He tried once again to put his hand in a soothing gesture, but she jerked away from it.

"Leave me alone. Don't touch me. Just leave me alone, please." She wasn't screaming anymore, but heartbreaking sobs shook her little body.

"Please leave me alone, you can't help, just leave me alone." She was now kneeling on the floor her head covered by her hands and resting on her thighs. Her muffled pleading was the only sound that could be heard. Some people were staring from both ends of the corridor. No one knew what to do. Jack was holding Teal'c's leg, both watching silently.

Daniel couldn't let his best friend stay that way and tried one more time to calm her. He bent down beside her, but did not dare touch her.

"Please Sam, tell me what's wrong. We are your friends and we will do everything we can to help you. Everyone here would do anything to make you stop hurting. Please stop crying."

"You can't help!" She turned to face him, her azure eyes brighter than he had ever seen. "No one can do anything for me. You can't go inside my head and remove everything from there, can you? Nobody can, I'm all alone."

"What are you talking about honey? Do you want me to get Janet?"

"No." She was still sobbing and her breath was cut by hiccups. "They all say that it's a gift. They don't know what it's like to have all of this things running around inside and it won't stop until I'm finished thinking and understanding everything."

Daniel was at a loss of words, beginning to see where this was going.

"And then I can't deal with** this **world, full or improbabilities and emotions and imperfections, and I want to stay inside the perfect and rational and safe world. And I'm tired of having to switch to one then the other."

For a second Daniel thought that maybe there were complications, and the little girl's brain wasn't made to have her older self knowledge.

"And the situation I'm in right now, it's really not helping. It's just opening new doors and possibilities and throwing my safe place into a state of constant chaos. This is time traveling! Do you realize what knowing that it is a reality and not just mere speculations and ideologies is doing to me?"

But no he realized, it was no complication or an error. It was just who she was, way too smart for her own good.

"And then how can I be sure that me knowing is not going to change my future, this present! Will I remember everything when I get back to my present? And if I change things will it destroy this universe as you know it, or will it create an alternate one. And how do I know if I'm changing anything or not? And, and, and…just make it go away please, just make everything go away."

She just sat there, begging for someone to end her sorrow, again and again. But she was right, no one could even beginning to comprehend how she was feeling.

The young boy didn't understand either, but he knew one thing. His best friend was hurting a lot. He walked slowly to her and she stared at him, startled by the movement. Kneeling in front of Sam he put both his arms around her and whispered softly "I can't switch off your brain, but I promise that when you think too much for too long, I'll be there to play with you and bring you food and make you happy."

It wasn't much, but it meant the world to the frightened, innocent little girl lost somewhere inside.

.

**"Unscheduled off world activation."**

"It's the Tok'ra, Sir."

Jacob stepped in the gate room. "Hi George, I was told that you needed our help. Things are slow so I was able to come as soon as I got your message."

"Glad to see you Jacob, Selmac. Come in my office, and I'll explain our little problem."

The retired General stared at his old friend. "And not a clue on how to reverse it?"

"Doctor Jackson is working on it, but so far, we have no idea what to do."

"Selmac will take a look at the markings."

Hammond nodded. "Let me call and tell him you are here. Jack and Samantha are with him, I think it's better to warn her that you have arrived."

The children were both in Daniel's office. Jack was sitting cross-legged against the wall. Papers and crayons were laying before him, but the discarded drawings had lost the interest of the little boy. All his attention was on his blonde friend. Her head was resting on his thighs, and as she stared blankly into nothingness, he gently combed her hair with his fingers.

She has been like that for nearly one and a half hours now. After the scene in the hallway, Daniel brought them into his office, far away from the curious stares of others. Teal'c was Kel'no'reeming in a corner. Janet came by, but she couldn't really do anything. Hammond joined them and they talk about bringing her to McKenzie, but he was no child psychologist. They were powerless. They had absolutely no clue as to what they could do. Apart from her intellect, the little girl and the Major share nothing in common. They guessed that whatever her problems were, she would find the solution as she grew up. So if they wanted to help her, they had to find a way to reverse the proceedings.

The phone rang and Daniel quickly but absentmindedly answered it. Jacob was on his way.

He looked up from his works to look at the kids. "Sam, your dad is coming." But she didn't acknowledge him.

Jack tried too. He bent forward to be able to look into her eyes. "Come one Sam, it's time you were back with us," he gently caressed her cheek. She turned her head toward him and he brightly smiled at her. "Your dad is here!"

"Really?" she whispered back, her excitement hardly contained. Once again the Doctor was concerned at the rapid change of behavior. Hopefully, Jacob will be able to answered their questions and tell them how to deal with his little girl.

She quickly stood up, stammering for a second as her whole body wasn't as eager as her mind. She grabbed Jack and unceremoniously hauled him up. "Hurry!"

And with that they were gone.

.

Jacob heard them before he saw them. Stealth wasn't a word to describe his daughter, yet. He wasn't prepared for the feelings that came with the sight of his little girl. She looked like a princess, and he was ashamed he almost forgotten that a long time ago, she has once been a very girly young lady. They were running in his and George's direction, but as soon as they saw them, the delighted children slowed down before coming to a halt. The older men made the last few steps to reach them. Her piercing blue eyes were observing him. He didn't really know what to do. Twenty five years ago, she would have jumped into his arms. He is not the same man as he was, both physically and mentally, and he didn't know how she would react. He crouched down to her and she hesitantly touched his bald head and let her fingers wander over his face.

"Hey kiddo…"

"Why are you wearing a skirt?" she asked.

His laugh was genuine. "The mission I was on required it."

He hugged her and she hugged him back.

"And who is this young man?" he asked looking over her shoulder.

"It's Jack. My best friend," she answered proudly. It was her first friend she had made that was around her own age.

"Hi Mister Carter," he shyly greeted.

He smiled at the adorable kid. "Call me Jacob, son. So I heard you have been taking good care of my daughter." He made the young boy blush.

"Daddy! I can take care of myself just fine!"

"I know you can honey." He took her up into his arms and started walking to their previous destination. Then Jacob almost lost it when he saw Jack reached for his CO's hand, it was just so unexpected that it was funny.

.

The morning went quickly after that. Teal'c watched over the kids, (after Sam finished telling her dad about absolutely everything she did the past two days.) while Daniel and Selmac worked. By noon Hammond called for a debriefing. A couple of airmen volunteered to keep an eye on Sam and Jack.

"So, I hope you have good news."

"Well," Daniel started, pushing up his glasses. "I'm afraid with have nothing to tell you Sir."

The General turned to the friendly Tok'ra. "I'm sorry General Hammond, I have no idea which language we are dealing with."

There was a heavy silence.

"Maybe it will just go back to normal on its own?" Daniel hypothesized.

"Let's hope so, but I will try to contact the Asgard. I guess that there is nothing else we can do for now. How long are you here for Jacob?"

"Until the end of the day. I need to ask the others if they recognize the writing. I don't have a lot of expectations, but you never know."

Hammond nodded.

"Teal'c, do you mind being in charge of the Colonel and Major Carter for the week?"

"I do not mind General Hammond."

"By then, if nothing has changed, we will have to discuss permanent settings for the both of them."

They all prayed it wouldn't come to that.

Just before Hammond called the briefing to a close, Daniel spoke up. "One last thing Jacob. Sam seems a little…I don't really how to explain it. One minute she is a happy and carefree little girl, the next, she's shutting everyone out. Has she always been like this?"

He frowned at the young archeologist.

"To tell you the truth, I hardly remembered until today that she used to be that talkative and exuberant. So for me, shutting everyone out and staying in her own world is not unfamiliar. I wasn't home often when she was that young."

"What happened to make her change so drastically?" A worried General asked.

"I don't really know," he breathed. "One day when I came back from a mission, gone were the dresses, the fake make-up and cheerful attitude. I didn't know what made the change and neither did her mother. We didn't push her. You know she has never been your average kid. She was very mature and didn't fit in."

"She is okay now? I mean, she doesn't wear dresses every day, but Sam is a happy and confident woman."

"I think she started getting better when she graduated from high school. I'm ashamed to say that after Catherine's death, I wasn't as present as I should have been. She made some friends in college…"

"Wait. You mean she went to college before she joined the academy?" Daniel was surprised that Sam never told him that.

"She graduated early."

"So what should we do to prevent young Samantha Carter from reliving the pain she has experienced previously?"

"The only person that could help was her mom," Jacob said sullenly. "She was the one dealing with her. But she didn't want to talk about what was going on, even to me. It was hard on her."

It had been hard on both of them. They had seen a lot of doctors and psychologists since she was barely two. They all blame her high IQ for her lack of social skills. But as parents, they took it as a failure. Not for the first time, Jacob Carter wished he could start over and be more present for his wife and his family. Then for a fraction of a second, he selfishly desired his little girl to stay that way so he could have a second chance with her.

Suddenly a memory flashed before his eyes. _'Thanks Sel,'_ he thought to his symbiote.

"Writing!" he said out of the blue, startling everyone. "I remember Catherine telling me that Sam took up writing the day she got…worse. She would write all the time."

"What did she write?"

"Nobody was allowed to read it. We wanted to respect her privacy." he shrugged.

"So, we just give her a notebook and a pen and that's it?" Daniel asked.

"Can't make things worse."

That was true.

The briefing now finished, Hammond left for the sanctuary of his own office while the others went to fetch the kids. As they made their way to the elevator, Jacod wondered, "And what about Jack? How is he taking things?"

"Surprisingly well! He's such a sweet boy. He wears his heart on his sleeve," Daniel smiled.

"No change there," Jacob retorted. He knew that once you got to know the man you learned that he was not as cold as he first seemed, on the contrary in fact.

"Indeed. The only change I see in O'Neill is his capacity at hiding his true emotions, which his younger self is clearly lacking." Teal'c added.

"I was just thinking of something," the archeologist began, "we should learn more about what they remember just before they woke up in the temple. There're must be a reason why they shrank back to those ages specifically."

.

After a late lunch, Teal'c went to the gym while the others decided to take a break in the recess room. Jack has been fascinated with all the computers and TVs ever since he saw one for the first time. Jacob and Daniel were on the couch, the kids sprawled on the floor and all four were watching cartoons.

"So Jack, can you tell me more about what happened just before you woke up the other day?"

The boy was half listening to the former General. "I was sleeping."

"Tell us more about the whole day."

"Why?" He averted his eyes from the screen to the two men.

"It might help us to understand what happened. What day was it?"

"It was Friday! Three days after my tenth birthday!" he proudly answered.

"Happy belated birthday!" Samantha all but screamed, "What did you get?"

"I got new shoes, a new bell for Carla and an awesome chocolate cake!"

"So, what did you do on that Friday?" Daniel asked before he lost the kids to their new interest.

"Well, mommy woke me up, we took our breakfast. After that I fed the animals then I went to school, then to Martha's. I came back home, I did my house works, I played with Carla, we ate and then I went to bed."

"Who is Martha?"

"My neighbor, she gives me pie if I help her with her garden. She's really nice, but really old."

"Where was your dad?"

Jack frowned. "He sleeps late and comes home late. Mom says he drinks too much." The two men shared a knowing look.

"Nothing out of the ordinary happened that day?"

"No," he answered too fast.

"Are you sure?" He didn't say anything this time. "Jack, tell us what happened."

The young boy's eyes shot from his hands to Jacob's gaze. "I swear it was an accident!" he pleaded. "I was cleaning the dishes, and there was water on the floor and I slipped! I didn't mean to, I swear! He's going to be so mad when he find out! I would have never broken the plate on purpose!" His eyes were filling up with unshed tears.

Jacob embraced the boy as he sobbed soundlessly. "It's all right son, it was not your fault."

The distress he was feeling over the broken plate told the older man a lot about the relationship between Jack and his alcoholic father.

Sam looked worriedly from her friend to the adults in the room. "What's going on daddy? It's just a plate, it's fine, he won't get grounded." Jacob looked at his daughter, eyes wide open with naïve incomprehension and grief. How could he tell is daughter that it was not okay and that what Jack was going to receive was far worse than a gentle reprimand.

.

Daniel left them to see the General, and only returned much later with Teal'c. While eating, a heavy silence surrounded the group. Jacob sent a silent question at the two comrades, both were looking too morose for his liking. '_Later,' _Daniel mouthed.

"Do you want to hear about the day before I came here daddy?" Sam asked, clearly not picking on the tension. "I woke up at five am, I stayed in bed thinking until 6.30." Daniel managed half a smile at that. In her case 'thinking' meant 'ignore the rest of the world'.

"I took a bath and got dressed. I choose the white one with blue butterflies because it was really sunny outside. I ate my breakfast, and then I tidied my bedroom and sorted out my clothes until noon. Mom made Mac'n cheese and an apple pie. It was delicious. I thought until three pm then I got into a fight with Mark. I helped Mom cleanup and prepare the house for the party,"

"A party?" her Dad interrupted, "what party?"

"New year's party, all the neighbors were invited! So I got ready for the party. I put on my most beautiful dress on, the light pink on with the bow in the back. Mom did my hair and she let me put on some lipstick. It was a really good party, Mom was laughing all the time and everybody was happy. But I got tired and I went to bed before the countdown," she added dejectedly. "And I woke up on another planet."

"Are you positive nothing major occurred Samantha Carter?"

She shook her head no.

"Come on kids, it's time you get ready to go to bed," Jacob announced. He didn't know why, but he had a really bad feeling about all of this.

Forty-five minutes later, teeth were brushed, faces were washed and they were back in their assigned quarters.

"Sam what are you doing?" Jacob suspiciously asked his daughter.

"I'm sleeping with Jack," she replied, as if it was the most natural thing to do. Somehow, Jacob has always known he would hear those words. But this was in much better circumstances that he had hoped.

"You've got your own bed."

"I sleep better with Jack."

He looked at Daniel. "I gave up too."

"All right, but don't get used to it."

Daniel and Teal'c hugged them goodnight and gave Jacob some privacy to say goodbye to his daughter.

"Kids, how are you taking things, really? It's not every day that you travel to the future."

Jack took some time to think about it.

"It's okay, I guess. I try not to think about it too much. I miss my mom, but it's kind of super cool here. It's strange to know what I will do later. I'm a Colonel in the air force! With awesome friends! I wanted to be a teacher, but this is pretty good too!"

The Tok'ra smiled at his enthusiasm.

"And you Sammy?"

"Well, I miss mom. I have never been away from her that long before. I don't really miss Marc so far thought," she frowned, "or maybe just a little. Also, time traveling is a wonderful experience, and I suppose that I should just enjoy it. But…that's not where I wanted to be when I grow up," she whispered looking at her hands. "I'm not complaining, everyone is nice, and traveling to other planets is unbelievable, but I just wonder…what happened."

Little did she know that her father was wondering the exact same thing. And he didn't have any good answer to give her.

"I don't know sweetheart. People change when they grow up. Just… don't think about it too much okay? I know you can't help it but…"

"Jack is helping me with that," she interrupted not so nicely.

"Oh…"

Selmac quelled Jacob's rise of emotion. He was jealous of a ten years old boy. But he acknowledged that it was his own fault that she turned to someone else to be there for her and he was glad that it was Jack.

Nobody talked for a minute.

"I have to go back on my mission," he finally declared.

She didn't say anything, but the look of disappointed on her face was worse than words.

He kissed his daughter on the forehead. "All right then," he leaned over Jack and kissed him too. "Take care of my girl for me Jack."

"Yes sir!" he answered devotedly.

"Have a good night kids, I'll try to be back as soon as I can."

Outside, Daniel and Teal'c were waiting for him.

"So, what's up with the grim faces, you are starting to scare me."

"Let's go talk somewhere in private."

"After what happened is the recess room, I decided to dig a little in Jack's past," Daniel professed after shutting the door of his quarters. He was feeling bad for prying into his friend's life, but they needed to find a solution. "And what I found, it's, god… it's really not pretty."

.

"I can't sleep Jack."

"I can't sleep either."

Sam took something from the nightstand and turned on a flashlight. She threw the cover over their heads and propped up a plastic sword to keep it from falling on their bodies. Jack was on his back, staring straight in front of him.

"Your father is really nice," he said not moving or looking at her.

"Yeah, he's a good dad. I just wish he was at home more." She was on her side, staring at him. Even if she wasn't really good at noticing people's state of mind, she knew that her friend wasn't feeling well. "You don't like your dad." It was more of an affirmation than a question.

"No," he simply replied.

"Why?"

He moved so he could face her. "He's mean to us." He took a shaky breath. Sam put her hand on one of his. "He shouts and screams all the time, and he beats mommy. And sometimes he hits me too."

"People are not allowed to hurt children. You have to tell the police, they will arrest him."

"Mom says that when we get enough money, we will leave."

"You can borrow my Dad if you want. I don't mind." She smiled at him.

"We can do that?"

"I guess," she shrugged. "It's like adopting a pet. It becomes part of the family after."

"Like Carla is my sister."

"Yes, but we can't be brother and sister."

"Why?"

"Because if you're my brother, we can't get married," she simply said.

And this was a good enough reason for him. She removed the sword and turned off the light.

.

"That night, the one Jack was talking about, October 23th 1962, Carmen Isabell O'Neill, aged thirty-two, died in an accident."

"What kind of accident?" he asked, but Jacob was afraid he already knew the answer.

"A home accident of course," Daniel answered bitterly. "I couldn't find anything else. I guess Sherrif O'Neill did a good work of covering up the case."

.

"Sam"

"Yes?"

"That night," he whispered like he was telling her a secret. "I think something bad happened. I don't really remember, but I know."

"I think something happened to me too."

"I don't want to go back and grow up."

"I want to stay here with you and never grow up."

Samantha put her tiny hands around Jack's waist and hugged him as tightly as he hugged back.

* * *

So that's it!

I hope you liked it.

I know it was heavy on the drama, but next chapter will be full of cuteness and pranks and friendship...

And sorry but it will be long before I update again! Suggestions are greatly appreciated, they might make me write faster ^^!


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